


that one time keith’s legs nearly caused an intergalactic incident // A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Sheithy Halloween Fic!

by narada-talis (sarensen)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Based on prompts, Choose Your Own Adventure, Halloween, Humor, M/M, Post-Season/Series 07, and bunny ears, cockblocker!kosmo, disaster!gay keith, disaster!gay shiro, keith in a miniskirt, wingman!atlas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 09:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16473035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarensen/pseuds/narada-talis
Summary: Keith's glare isdeadlyand goes against at least five of Coran's bullet-pointed crowd-pleasing techniques. But the shoulder frills frame his biceps in just the right way, and the skirt cuts his thighs at just the right height so his legs seem to go on forever. Hunk doesn't swing that way, but he has eyes, and Keith is a whole five foot seven of angry hot mess right now.He swallows as Keith stops next to him. "Buddy. What did Pidgesayto get you to wear... that?"Keith turns his glare on him and Hunk shrivels a little, feeling it physically chip away a part of his soul. "It's for. The children."The way he says "children" makes it sound like he meant "Zarkon" instead.Hunk fidgets. "Right. Cool. Cool. The, uh, ears are a. You know. Nice touch."Keith turns to face him and Hunk throws his hands up defensively (just in case).But all Keith says, voice dangerously low, is: "Where's Shiro."You get to choose your own ending for how sheith spend their Halloween night, out of three possible options :D





	that one time keith’s legs nearly caused an intergalactic incident // A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Sheithy Halloween Fic!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to everyone who submitted a prompt for this fic over on [tumblr](https://narada-talis.tumblr.com)! I'm afraid I couldn't fit all of the ones I got into one fic, but they were all really excellent! I hope I did justice to the ones I could fit in. Thank you so much again! :D

"No. No way. Nuh uh."

"Come on, Keith. Don't be like that."

"Pidge, no. I am _not_ wearing that."

Lance fails to hide his pout, nudging Keith with an elbow. "It's for a good cause...? Charity, Keith. Think of the children."

Keith makes a frustrated sound. "How is a French maid outfit in any way appropriate for children?"

"It's the only one they had left..." Pidge edges in, voice bordering on a whine, "Please?"

"Anyway," Lance gestures, "technically it's not a maid outfit. It's a bunny outfit. See? It even has a fluffy tai--- Whoa! Put the--- Keith, put the knife down."

Pidge manages to wrestle Keith's arm down a bit. "Keith, come on. Everyone's dressing up. It's all in good fun."

"That's easy for you to say when you're a... whatever... _that_ is."

"A visual representation of the Callan-Symanzik Equation," Lance supplies helpfully. 

"... Uh huh." Keith huffs a sigh. "Look. I'm sorry. But I am _not_ wearing the bunny dress, and that's final."

"Keeeeiiiith..." Pidge and Lance say both at once. 

Keith says, "Where am I going to put my bayard?", which is singlehandedly the most Keith thing Lance has ever heard. 

He throws his hands up. "Of _course_ he's worried about stashing the baya---. You know what. I give up."

"Good." Keith nods at Lance, uncrossing his arms. "I'll go in my paladin armor. That should be---"

Pidge interrupts with a very fast and very loud "WeonlygotitinthefirstplacebecauseShirolovesrabbits!"

Lance pauses. That isn't _entirely_ true, because Shiro had been in meetings the entire day they got the costumes. Then again, Lance did show him a picture of a bunny with a pancake on its head that one time, and Shiro did smile and say "that's very nice, Lance", so _technically_ , it's not completely untrue either. 

And... Keith is still glaring, but it's turned slightly thoughtful. "... He does?"

Lance grins, clapping Keith on the shoulder. "Let me show you the ears..." 

 

\------------------

 

The annual Garrison Halloween Ball has garnered a lot of additional attention this year, as the first official celebration to be held after what's come to be known as the Liberation, and the first Earth holiday to be celebrated by races from all over the Galaxy. 

Dignitaries from planets Hunk hasn't even heard of have been arriving for days, clamoring to join the Coalition and explore the young planet it now calls home. The paladins have been doing their part in the efforts to rebuild Earth, including, on this occasion, making nice with the alien dignitaries in the hopes of raising the necessary funds to complete the structure that will house the new Coalition home base. 

Coran has gone all out. The whole Garrison has been decked out in spooky decorations. He's gotten music from all the different planets represented to play at the Ball. He's even gone so far as to give them all a special lecture on diplomacy. There were binders involved (fully color-coded, of course, because they aren't animals). Having the paladins wear Halloween costumes would be a catchy gimmick, he'd said, and _your silly Earth customs are so strange; you're bound to be a hit!_

Halloween Day itself sees the paladins filing into the main mess hall in costumes varying from tacky (Lance in a full-body shark onesie) to cute (Kosmo decked in various pieces of colored cardboard to look like the Black Lion) to downright weird (Allura and Coran just dressed as... each other. Yes, there is a moustache. No, Allura doesn't pull it off.).

And then there's Keith. 

Hunk, dressed as a character called Maui from an old animated Earth movie, stares as Keith comes through the door. "Whoa."

Keith's glare is _deadly_ and goes against at least five of Coran's bullet-pointed crowd-pleasing techniques. But the shoulder frills frame his biceps in just the right way, and the skirt cuts his thighs at just the right height so his legs seem to go on forever. Hunk doesn't swing that way, but he has eyes, and Keith is a whole five foot seven of angry hot mess right now. 

He swallows as Keith stops next to him. "Buddy. What did Pidge _say_ to get you to wear... that?"

Keith turns his glare on him and Hunk shrivels a little, feeling it physically chip away a part of his soul. "It's for. The children." 

The way he says "children" makes it sound like he meant "Zarkon" instead. 

Hunk fidgets. "Right. Cool. Cool. The, uh, ears are a. You know. Nice touch."

Keith turns to face him and Hunk throws his hands up defensively (just in case).

But all Keith says, voice dangerously low, is: "Where's Shiro." He makes it sound like a threat rather than a question.

Alarm bells ring in Hunk's head. "Oh, buddy. I don't think it's a good idea for you to..."

"Why not?"

... Because if Shiro sees you looking like that he's going to completely stop functioning for at least the next week and if another Robeast attacks we won't have the Atlas for backup because Shiro's brain will be a puddle on the floor and we are all going to dIE, AND IT'S GOING TO BE BECAUSE YOU LOOK LIKE _THAT_ IN STOCKINGS, KEITH, AND I DON'T WANT TO DIE, KEITH, THAT'S WHY NOT!!!

(He doesn't say any of that.)

Instead, he hedges, "Shiro's, you know, busy. I'm sure he doesn't want any interruptions."

Keith crosses his arms, grumbling something that might be an agreement. Hunk sighs in relief. _Safe_.

Around them, the party starts to get into full swing, undisturbed. Lance brings them all glasses of something purple and sparkly, and Hunk slowly starts to relax. Keith doesn't completely lose the glare, but he does eventually make his way over to the ambassadors from the Iborix Sector and actually starts a conversation with them.

 

As the minutes tick by and the party swells to a high and then starts to wind down, and it looks like Shiro might be stuck with Iverson in diplomatic talks for the rest of the night, Hunk starts to believe they might actually get through this Halloween without incident. 

 

\------------------ 

 

He's wrong, of course. So very, very wrong. 

He's over at the refreshments table getting a snack when a loud crash interrupts everything. Everyone in the vicinity goes quiet. The music stops. Hunk winces, turning reluctantly to look at the door where the commander of the Atlas (dressed as a policeman) has stopped short, apparently dropping his glass. His face is at least as red as the puddle of punch slowly spreading at his feet and over the toes of the Praxian High Senator next to him. 

_Oh, boy._

The Senator somehow manages to look both disgusted and distressed at the same time, despite lacking any actual facial features. His assistant is scrambling around him, picking up pieces of glass and mopping punch with his sleeve. Someone is yelling something about annulling some peace accords.

Shiro looks at Keith like the rest of the world doesn't exist.

Hunk kicks into damage control gear and jogs over to Shiro, giving the Senator his best toothy grin. "Hi. So sorry. You look great. We're just going to, uh, go over there. Great party. Try the cupcakes!" He grabs Shiro's human arm, tugging him over. 

Shiro is unresponsive. Hunk waves a hand in front of his eyes. He shakes his shoulder. He pokes him in the ribs. Eventually, he resorts (with a wince and a small prayer) to slapping him lightly on the cheek. "You gotta get it together, man!" 

Shiro blinks, then looks at Hunk as if he hadn't seen him there. "What? Oh. Hunk. Nice, nice party. You look. Did you. Ah, d-did you see Keith?"

 _Did I see---?!_ "Yeah, man. I saw Keith. More importantly, I think that dude from Praxia is about to declare war on Earth."

Shiro blanches with a curse, making as if to go back over there, but Allura has already swooped in to arbitrate (albeit somewhat awkwardly from behind the moustache). Hunk holds Shiro back by his belt. "Allura's got it, man." 

Shiro sighs, looking a bit rejected. But then his eye catches on Keith again, and it's like watching the sun rise in his face. 

The music starts up again. Hunk heaves a deep sigh. "So... You gonna go talk to him?"

"To the Senator?" 

"No."

"...You want me to talk to _Keith_?" Shiro says it as if the words literally burn his mouth on the way out.

"Yeah? What's the big deal?"

"Have you _seen_ him?" 

"Shiro. I saw him."

"He's..."

"I know."

"But the ears."

"I _know_."

"... Tail..." Shiro's voice gets progressively tinier.

Hunk grumbles. "Look. There's some kind of maze thing going on in the Atlas. There's a bonfire outside. As a paladin of Voltron I officially outrank you at any Coalition events. So I'm ordering you to take Keith and go do something before you cause some kind of intergalactic incident."

Shiro rubs the back of his neck self-consciously, then sighs and pushes his aviators up the bridge of his nose. "Alright. Yeah. I'm sorry. You're right. Thanks, Hunk."

Hunk gives him a little shove in Keith's direction. He's gonna need a _lot_ more cupcakes before the night is over.

 

 

==============================================

 

 

It's not that Keith hates Halloween. He dislikes large crowds, and having to make small talk with people who think they're important, and he _especially_ doesn't like dancing. All three of which he's expected to do tonight. And Shiro isn't even here, which is just the rotten cherry on top of the mud cake.

He's just about gotten to the point where he thinks he may punch someone if he doesn't get out of his very uncomfortable costume soon. The space wolf escaped back to their room hours ago. Keith feels a little betrayed. Mostly jealous.

He turns to go, and runs head-first right into Shiro. They rebound slightly, Keith reaching up to catch the bunny ears before they slip off his head. Shiro is wearing a police uniform and looks like something straight out of Keith's fantasy. Heat floods his body. He can't help but smile. "You made it."

Shiro takes off the sunglasses, pushing them into his pocket and resting his hand lightly on Keith's shoulder. "So I did. Keith... you look... amazing."

Keith pretends to flick a speck of dust off his skirt to hide his blush. "Looking pretty good yourself, old-timer. Or should I say... Officer?"

He looks up at Shiro. He doesn't think he's imagining the blush that makes the scar on his nose stand out a little whiter. They stare at each other for a long moment.

Shiro clears his throat. "So uh. Hunk basically told me we don't have to go home, but we can't stay here. Looks like there's some Halloween-y things around. Feel like doing anything?"

Keith considers, chewing his bottom lip lightly...

 

 

 

 

 

[Now, _you_ get to choose what they do!]

Scroll down to the corresponding number for them to...

 

 **1\. Visit the maze on the Atlas** (based on the prompts: locked in a room together/huddling for warmth/wingman!Atlas)  
**2\. Go outside and sit by the bonfire** (based on the prompts: full moon/curse/ghost stories)  
**3\. Stay in the mess hall and dance** (based on the prompts: dancing in costume)

 

 

==========================================

 

 

 

**1\. Visit the maze on the Atlas**

 

 

"I dunno... I was just gonna go back to my quarters."

Shiro smiles at him understandingly. "You never were one for parties."

"Guess I just don't really... see the point."

Shiro squeezes his shoulder lightly. "Okay. At least let me walk you back to your room? I haven't seen you all day. "

Keith flushes with warmth, feeling suddenly nervous, though Shiro's been to his quarters on the Atlas hundreds of times before. He blames it on the stupid dress, which he is already having fantasies of taking off. But then he accidentally imagines Shiro _still being in the room_ while he does, and has to duck his head to hide his fierce and sudden blush. 

Shiro doesn't seem to notice, already turning to the door. Meanwhile, Keith is having a full blown panic attack in his mind - _stopthinkingaboutitstopthinkingaboutitjuststop!_

They make their way out of the Garrison and out toward the airfield, where the massive Atlas sits heavy and silent on its landing pad. The cold air outside goes some way to calm his nerves, and by the time they reach the ship, he feels mostly himself again. 

Lights are glowing in several of the windows high up. The ship looks welcoming and seeing it fills Keith with a strange kind of warmth - the Atlas is Shiro, and Shiro is home. The thought banishes the last vestiges of his blush. 

As they step onto the ship, Keith immediately notices several small changes. The walls have been decked out with spiderwebs and plastic bats, and the lights glow ominous red instead of their usual happy orange. 

There's something else that's different, too. Keith stops short just inside the hangar. "This is, uh. New."

Apparently, when Hunk said, "There's a maze on the Atlas," what he _meant_ was, "The maze _is_ the Atlas."

Shiro shrugs and smiles a little embarrassedly. "Guess this is what you get when you have a sentient transforming ship that really likes Halloween."

Keith crosses his arms. "Sure. The _ship_ likes Halloween."

They wander through the strange new hallways, too many twists and turns to keep track of and soon Keith has gotten completely turned around. 

"Shiro... are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Yeah, of course. In, uh, theory."

Keith pulls Shiro to a halt. "Can't you just ask it to... change back?"

"It'll be fine," Shiro reassures him, "Trust me."

Keith does. (He's not so sure about the Atlas yet.)

Shiro looks around, seeming to decide on a random direction and starting down it. "Come on."

They end up in a room Keith's never seen before. It has a small couch and a desk bolted to the floor, and nothing else. 

Keith makes an exasperated sound. They've been wandering around for almost half an hour. "That's it. Shiro, as the Head of Voltron I'm making an executive decision. We have to ask for direc---"

The door to the room slams shut behind him, cutting him off, and the lights go out. The soft hum of the air conditioning whines down to silence. 

It's suddenly very quiet and very dark in the room. The only light comes from Shiro's prosthetic, casting his face in strange shadows and angles. Keith can hear himself breathe. 

Shiro says, "Huh."

Keith heaves a sigh. He pointedly doesn't say, _I told you so._ Instead, he tries hitting one palm on the keypad. It's dead, and the door unsurprisingly doesn't budge. Keith raps on the steel of the door. "Hey! Anyone out there?" He listens for a reply. "Can anyone hear me?" 

He tries pounding on the door a few more times, but already suspects it's useless. Eventually he gives up, slumping his back against the wall. 

Shiro has his prosthetic's palm pressed against the other side of the room and his eyes closed, concentrating. He soon gives up. "I can't get through to the Atlas."

"Great." Keith crosses his arms and slides down the wall to sit on the floor. "Guess we're stuck here, then."

"I don't suppose you have your datapad?"

Keith fixes him with a Look in the dark. "Does it look like there's room for a datapad in... any part of this dress?"

“... Good point."

Shiro comes to sit down next to him. "I guess there's worse places to be stuck."

Keith sniffs, then looks him over surreptitiously from the corner of his eye. "... Are you, ah, ok? I know you don't do well with small dark places."

"With you here to protect me, what is there to be afraid of?" Shiro replies, and Keith can hear the smile in his voice. 

"What about cursed spaceships?"

"The Atlas isn't cursed, Keith. I'm sure it's just a malfunction. A team is probably working on it already."

"Uh huh..."

With the heating out, the air inside the room is starting to feel considerably colder. It isn't long before the hard metal of the door at his back starts to feel like ice, and Keith can't suppress a shiver. From what he can see of Shiro by the blue light of his shoulder, he seems to be hugging himself a bit smaller than usual as well. 

From somewhere to the side, there is a click and a pop. A part of the wall shifts open, followed by the pneumatic hiss of a hidden drawer sliding out. Keith exchanges a look with Shiro, before getting up to investigate. 

Inside the drawer is a stack of thick folded blankets, fluffy and warm to the touch. 

Oh. Oh, okay. So that's what this is. 

Keith pulls one out, showing it to Shiro. "... A 'malfunction', huh."

Shiro winces. "This... probably isn't what it looks like?"

"Well," says Keith, "it looks like the Atlas is trying to force us to spend the night together in a locked room huddled under blankets."

"Okay. So maybe it _is_ what it looks like."

Keith pulls out the blankets anyway, nerves returning with a vengeance. Did the Atlas somehow get into his head? Was it listening when he had the mental image of Shiro watching him undress?

His hands actually shake a little when he hands a blanket to Shiro, mouth too dry to speak. 

Shiro takes it and gets to his feet. "Floor's cold. Wanna move to the couch instead?"

Keith nods, then remembers how dark it is: "S-sure."

They squeeze onto the couch awkwardly, tightly next to each other, Shiro with his blanket over his knees, and Keith with his draped over his head like a cloak. 

They make small talk for a while, but the couch is very narrow and Keith is still very riled up, and every movement Shiro makes against him makes him jump a little. 

When they get out of here, Keith is definitely going to have a long talk with the Atlas. 

Eventually, it goes from being very late to being very early, and they're both yawning. 

"Man, I'm beat," Shiro says from behind his hand. "And I gotta be up early again tomorrow. More long meetings, woohoo." (The 'woohoo' is sarcastic.)

Keith chews his lip worriedly. "You should try to get some sleep, then. I'll sit on the floor so you can lie down."

"Thanks, Keith. But I'll be fine."

"No, it's okay. I'll just..." He starts to get up, but Shiro catches his wrist. Keith freezes.

Shiro says, "I insist. There's no way I'm having a relaxing night's sleep with you sitting on the cold ground. You can just... lie down on top of me."

Keith's soul transcends into another dimension for a moment.

Eventually, he becomes aware of Shiro peering at him in the dark. "...eith? You okay?"

"S-Sorry. Yeah. Uh. Okay."

"Okay then." Shiro turns, pulling his long legs up on the couch and arranging his head on the armrest with the blanket draped over his chest. "Come on... lie down."

Keith struggles to swallow past his heartbeat. Nothing for it. He can't pass up an opportunity like this. He steels himself by burrito-ing the blanket around his body, then crawls on top of Shiro, pillowing his head on his chest. 

Shiro is huge. There's more than enough room for Keith, a fact which he files away carefully for later and definitely can't afford to think about too much right now. 

They shift around a bit to find a comfortable shared space, and eventually Shiro ends up with his arms around Keith, resting lightly on his back. It's quiet for a beat before he asks, doubtfully, "Is this okay?"

Keith nods, maybe a bit too quickly. This is more than okay. "It's... nice."

Shiro pauses. "... Yeah. It is. It's really nice."

Keith smiles to himself, feeling warm all over, and not just from the blankets and shared body heat. Shiro's rubbing his back lightly. Keith doesn't think he even knows he's doing it. 

Soon the power will come back on again and they'll go their separate ways, and this will never happen again, so Keith plans on memorizing every second of it. 

Unfortunately, despite his best intentions, Shiro is too warm and too comfortable, and Keith is too tired, and soon, the deep dark nothing of sleep overcomes him. 

\------------------

They get woken a few hours later by the lights flickering on, and the door hissing open. Keith groans, opening one eye a slit. 

In the doorway are crammed Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, Sam Holt, Commander Iverson, and the space wolf, faces arranged in various states of shock. 

Keith grumbles, going to sit up. Shiro's arms tighten around him fractionally, as if to keep him there, before he seems to remember himself and lets him go so they can both straighten up. 

Lance says, "Oh. My. _God_." at the same time as Pidge yells, high-pitched, "I can't believe it finally happened! Thank you, Atlas!"

Keith rubs his entire hand over his face, blushing bright red. He is _definitely_ going to talk to the Atlas later. 

 

 

==========================================

 

 

 

**2\. Go outside and sit by the bonfire**

 

 

"I dunno... I was just gonna go back to my quarters."

Shiro gives him an understanding look, somehow knowing that Keith's had about enough of crowds and is ready to get out. "Too many people, huh," he says. "Why don't we go outside for a bit? Hunk said there'd be a bonfire..."

And actually, that sounds really nice. Keith nods and follows Shiro outside. They make a wide berth around a tangle of people including someone Keith thinks is the Praxian Senator, and Allura in a moustache. For some reason, Shiro keeps approximately twenty feet between them at all times, slipping out a side door; Keith follows his lead, but wonders if something happened between them. 

As soon as they step outside, the cold air hits Keith's skin, making it pebble. He's suddenly acutely aware that he's basically wearing only a corset in the cool Autumn weather. He hugs himself lightly, trailing Shiro around the side of the building. 

The moon is huge, hanging fat and yellow-white above them, bright enough to light their way in the dark. Their footsteps crackle on dried yellow leaves.

They head to where someone has made a large bonfire in a sand-pit close to the Garrison gates. Around it are seated, in various states of relaxation, Krolia, Kolivan, three of the MFE pilots, and Sam Holt. 

"Mind if we join you?" Shiro asks, already sitting down on the sparse dry grass in front of a log next to Krolia. 

While Keith is busy trying to figure out how to sit down in a miniskirt, Sam Holt says, "Of course", and Kolivan passes Shiro a silver flask. 

Keith eventually manages to make it to the ground, pressing the folds of his skirt into the hollow of his crossed legs. He's starting to really regret not getting changed first before coming out here. He goes back to hugging himself again with a shiver. 

"We were just telling scary stories," Krolia fills them in. "We were told it's an Earth tradition on this day."

James Griffin (looking decidedly paler than usual in the firelight), grumbles, "Get out while you still can, man. Galra horror stories are _terrifying_."

Shiro chuckles, taking a swig from the flask before passing it over to Sam. "Let's hear one, then, so we can judge for ourselves."

Keith gives him a disgruntled look, leaning over to elbow him lightly and mutter, "That's rich, coming from the guy who couldn't even make it through _The Bi-boh Before Christmas._ "

Shiro turns a slightly embarrassed smile on him, shrugging, "In my defense, it was a lot scarier than _Silence of the Biboh-Bihs_. And you heard her. It's a tradition. Besides, it's nice to just..." he trails off, blinking at Keith. "Hey, are you cold?"

Keith drops his hands as though burned. "No. I'm fine."

"You're shivering," Shiro points out. "Here..." He slips his police jacket off his shoulders, and Keith is suddenly surrounded by his scent as it envelopes his shoulders. "There."

Keith's cheeks flame. The jacket is still warm from Shiro's body heat. It's at least two sizes too big, which is fine, but it only has one arm. It's been modified for Shiro's prosthetic, so Keith's right arm slips right through, bare. 

He looks at Shiro. Shiro looks back at him, slightly crestfallen. "Ah. Right... sorry. That isn't much help, is it."

Keith's heart is beating hard enough to be audible. Shiro is rubbing at the seam where the metal of the prosthetic meets his shoulder self-consciously. Keith doesn't think he's ever seen him be self-conscious about anything. He decides he doesn't like it.

His body reacts before his mind can fully catch up with it. 

Next thing he knows he's lifting Shiro's human arm and crawling in under it, pressing in tight against him so his right arm is caught between them. "Not a problem."

Shiro is staring at him with a shocked blush, and Keith doesn't think he's imagining that it's gotten fractionally warmer against him. Keith's mind has finally caught up and is currently a running litany of _whatareyoudoingyorakwhatareyoudoingyorakpleasdon'tpushmeawayshiro---_

He looks away only to find everyone else around the bonfire staring at them, with expressions ranging from amusement to exasperation. James has his arms crossed. Sam Holt is looking anywhere but at them, fiddling with the flask. 

Krolia clears her throat. "Where was I?"

"The Curse of the Bone Wolf," Kolivan supplies in an ominous voice, actually shivering a bit at the mere word. 

"Ah, yes. The Wolf of Bones. It's said that on the night of the blood moon, a terrible curse befalls Galra unlucky enough to bear the Mark."

As if on cue, somewhere in the distance, something howls. 

"What mark?" Rizavi asks, snickering with Kinkade at the look on James' face. 

"The Mark of Sufferance. A testament to..." 

As the night wears on and the fire starts to burn low, Keith loses himself in the lilt of her voice, comfortable and warm against Shiro, shifting slightly with each of his breaths. He falls into a kind of trance, staring into the flames. Every time Shiro chuckles or shifts, the movement vibrates through Keith, making his chest tingle in the most pleasant way, and this is something he's been dreaming about for so long... just to be close to him like this, just to _be_ with him like this.

He must doze off at some point, because the next thing he becomes aware of is Shiro touching his arm, whispering softly, "Keith... you awake?"

Keith opens one eye a slit; the bonfire is mostly coal and smoke now, and they're the only ones left outside. 

He's so warm and comfortable that the thought of moving upsets him, so he closes his eye again, fully prepared to go back to sleep.

But then he feels the soft press of warm lips against his temple, and the weight of Shiro's head coming to rest on top of his. His eyes fly open. 

"I wish I could stay with you like this forever," Shiro whispers into his hair, completely unaware of the fact that Keith is listening. "There's so many things I want to say to you. When I saw you tonight in that dress... wow. I think my heart was about to burst right out my chest."

Keith stops breathing, too afraid to move even a little for fear of letting Shiro in on the fact that he's awake. His chest aches, heart beating so fast he can taste it in his mouth. _What. What's happening?_

"If I could hold you like this every night... but I've asked so much of you already. You've saved me, over and over. I can't ask you for this, too---"

"Don't be an idiot!" Keith interrupts before he can catch himself. He slaps his hand over his mouth, groaning, but it's done now. It's out. Nothing he can do about it. He turns to face Shiro. 

Shiro is staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights. "K-Keith? You heard that?"

Keith catches him by his shirt, preventing him from pulling away. He tries to convey how serious he is with his eyes. "You can't just say stuff like that, Shiro."

Shiro looks panicked, trying to extract himself from Keith's grasp. "I know. I'm so sorry. That was totally inappropriate and---"

"Not what I meant." He shakes Shiro lightly. "I meant. If you say stuff like that, you gotta really mean it. "

Shiro blinks to a halt. "I... I do, Keith..."

"I've been in love with you for forever, Shiro. _Forever_." He hears the words coming out of his mouth, but can't quite believe he's actually saying them. Maybe he's still dreaming. "So you can't just suddenly say stuff like that to me if you don't really mean it, okay?"

Shiro swallows visibly, then reaches up to curl his palm over Keith's jaw. Keith forgets to breathe. His hands shake, and he can do little more than hold onto Shiro's shirt as Shiro pulls him closer. His eyes slip closed, body flushing with heat. Shiro's mouth grazes his---

And a loud howl startles them both, coming from somewhere nearby. Shiro flies around, instantly on alert. Keith is ready to murder whatever it was. No, no, no, no, no! They were _this_ close! "Oh, come on!"

But then the space wolf comes bounding out of the bushes, pouncing onto Keith and bowling him over with excited licks to his face, as if to say, _There you are! I finally found you! I was worried!_

Keith can't help but chuckle, ruffling the wolf's blue fur. He exchanges an embarrassed smile with Shiro, who helps him up. 

"Buddy," Shiro tells the wolf, "you have the worst timing in the universe."

The wolf licks his hand.

Keith sighs, brushing dust and dried grass off his skirt.

Shiro holds out a hand to him. "Wanna go inside? We could... pick up where we left off."

Keith takes his hand, and smiles. "I'd like that." 

 

 

==========================================

 

 

**3\. Stay in the mess hall and dance**

 

 

 

"I dunno... I was just gonna go back to my quarters."

Shiro shoves him lightly, playfully. "Don't be like that. It's a party. I haven't seen you all day."

"I hate parties," Keith points out, "and you looked like you were having an aneurysm when you saw me earlier, so..."

"You just. Look, you know. Good."

Keith raises an eyebrow at him. "I look like a drag queen had a baby with the Easter Bunny."

That makes Shiro laugh, and not a Captain Shiro laugh either, but a full-body, Takashi Shirogane guffaw. Keith's chest tightens at the sound. It's been way too long since he heard it. 

".... No, but really," Shiro manages once he's calmed down enough, "You look great."

Keith looks down to hide his blush, scuffing the heel of one sneaker on the ground. "Thanks. I guess the party isn't so bad."

When he looks up Shiro is suddenly closer than he thought he'd be. Keith blinks, and Shiro seems just as caught off guard. They stare at each other for a long second and Keith's heart starts beating faster. He fists his hands in his skirt to hide how they tremble. In the eight years since he got to know Shiro, he's learned to kill a man with just a hairpin, but he still doesn't know how to be this close to him without feeling like his heart is trying to claw out of his throat.

Shiro looks away first, clearing his throat a bit awkwardly and breaking the moment. "So..." He smiles suddenly. "You wanna dance?"

Keith gapes at him in horror. "N. No. I don't dance." Especially not in a room full of people, and especially not _with you_ in a room full of people who will definitely immediately be able to tell how I feel about you because I'm never going to be able to hide it so close to you... 

"Come on. It'll be fun."

"No." Keith crosses his arms defensively. 

But Shiro says, "Please? It's late. There's hardly anyone left in the mess to see."

And he's still so close, and Keith could never say no to him anyway. He deflates slightly. "If I say no, are you gonna read me my rights?"

Shiro snorts. "I'd hate to have to take you into custody, but I will if you leave me no choice."

"Yeah," Keith grumbles, "I'd _hate_ to be in your custody."

"What?" Shiro says.

"Nothing." Keith looks up at him defiantly. "So are we dancing or what?" 

Shiro just smiles mischievously, and steps closer. 

And it's not at all like Keith imagined it would be. 

Instead of putting a hand primly on his hip and extending their arms out like he's seen on TV, Shiro pulls him into a hug. 

Keith goes with a startled, "O-okay, we're doing _this_ now," catching himself on Shiro's chest.

Shiro clasps Keith's hand with his human one, resting them against Keith's chest. His prosthetic arm is a warm line down Keith's back, pressing him close, heavy and reassuring. Keith feels his heartbeat in his throat, tingling all the way from his chest down to his knees. 

"Is this okay?" Shiro asks softly, always the considerate one. Keith is feeling a little overwhelmed and can do little more than nod. He lets his head rest on Shiro's shoulder instead of replying, just letting himself breathe as he starts to slowly relax. 

This is more than okay. This is probably the most okay he's ever been in his life. This is _perfect_. 

At first he isn't sure what to do with his feet. He shuffles a bit awkwardly, but Shiro tells him to stop thinking about it, and he eventually falls into the rhythm as they sway to the music. Shiro smells like soap and cologne and a little sweat and dust from the desert outside. He smells like home.

Keith bites his lip against the sudden urge to tell him that. He doesn't want to ruin the moment by speaking, and he'll probably say the wrong thing anyway. He's good at a lot of things. Translating his feelings into words is not one of them. 

Shiro, of course, doesn't have the same problem. Keith jumps lightly at the sound of his voice right by his ear: "I was serious. You really look... amazing."

Keith swallows heavily, glad his face is till pressed into Shiro's neck to hide his blush. That's the third time tonight he's said that, and if only he knew how many times Keith's imagined it before... 

He knows Shiro's just being nice. He probably told _Lance_ the same thing, (and Lance looks like the product of a toy line collaboration between Picasso and H. R. Giger). But that's just another thing that makes him _Shiro_. His heart has space for absolutely anyone, even someone like Lance, and especially someone like Keith. Keith doesn't think he can ever tell him how much he loves that about him.

He pulls away to look at Shiro and says instead, "I'm really glad you came tonight."

Shiro's very close and very warm. He smiles at Keith and says, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

And a beat passes between them before Shiro's slowly leaning in toward him, and Keith clutches at his shirt, hands shaking and heart in his mouth because he thinks Shiro is about to _kiss_ him, and he's been waiting _years_ and he can't believe it's finally---

A loud yell is all the warning they get before a hard, heavy shape barrels into them from the side, sending Keith sprawling on the floor. He twists his head back and gets treated to an upside-down view of Pidge clinging for dear life to the back of something metal and glowing purple on one end. Her voice echoes around the corner with a fading "Rogue robot, so sorry you guys, don't worry everything is under control!", before she disappears. 

Shiro is already up and running after her with a concerned "Pidge!" and a frown on his face. 

Keith lets his head thunk back onto the floor. 

He hates Halloween. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can reblog this fic on tumblr if you like, or otherwise just come and [scream at/with me](https://narada-talis.tumblr.com/ask) about the twitter #vldrps!


End file.
